When a T's rear end is jacked up and the hand brake set to neutral, should I see any movement in the wheels?
Ideally, no.
But it's pretty common for one wheel to spin even when the car is in neutral and it is cold, but it won't really hurt anything. It usually just means that your clutch plates are sticking. Not really much you can do about it without pulling the entire engine and transmission to inspect or replace the clutch disks. When I first got my '24 Touring, the cold start procedure included jacking up the wheel and letting it spin until the engine warmed up. After that, it was fine and ready to drive.
The wheel should start to slow down after the engine warms up, and hopefully stop all together, but even if it still spins slowly, you should still be okay. However, if after the engine has warmed up and the wheel is still spinning just as fast as it was when it was cold, then you have a problem.
If you have Ford clutch disks, and the wheels jack up, they will normally move.
But if setting on the ground, with the high lever standing straight up, or with the brake on slightly, it should not pull forward.
If it does it needs adjustment, or the brake drum lugs are wore where the plates won't all release, and drag slightly.
Herm.
I used to always jack up the right rear to start my car "cold" at home and the tire would spin at about 30mph (fast enough to smoke the sole of my shoe). I always thought I had a neutral problem until I forgot to jack it up and it started and idled just fine with just a tiny amount of creep which I stop with the hand brake. Since then I never jack it up, Don.
Parking with the brake lever forward (In High gear), and using 5W-30 motor oil will do wonders on the creeping. Of course, if you park on a hill I suppose you have to use the hand brake, but for parking on a flat surface.......
Hand brake is not an issue - there is no brake other than the transmission and a wheel chock; it's a conversion tractor.
I'm talking about parking it in High Gear. That way the clutch discs are 'squished' (That's an industry term) together keeping the oil out from between them. Then when you pull the lever back to neutral, there's a lot less oil between the discs to try to impart motion (Creeping).
Knew what you meant Hal - was referring to your parking on a hill comment.
It's a good idea to chock the wheel when cranking a cold engine. It could run you over! Just a good safety factor. Actually when the hand lever is straight up on a level surface, you should be able to push the car without the engine turning and you should also be able to crank without the car rolling. But for safety sake be sure to chock especially when cold.
Norm